Firefly to the U.S.

Four-seater plane to be the first civilian plane to be exported to the U.S. from Korea

A four-seater light plane for civilian use has been exported for the first time from Korea. Firefly, the first light plane developed in the country, has been shipped to the United States in a batch of 60, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced Nov. 3.
Shinyoung Heavy Industries Co., the maker of the plane, shipped the planes to Proxy Aviation Co. of the United States under a contract it signed with the U.S. company in April.
The light plane is 6.6 meters in length, with the maximum speed of 330 km/h and the minimum speed of 120 km/h. It needs 430 meter length of runway to take off and fly 1,850 km with a price tag of $290,000 per plane.
The Firefly, at a test flight in the U.S., reached the height of 6,100 meters with its total weight of 1,540 kg at the time of takeoff, beating all of its rivals in a demonstration of Korea's aircraft technology to the world, the MOCIE said.
The plane has its horizontal wings in front of its fuselage to give more balance to the plane in a low flight and furthermore, it has a wheel type driving handle, in place of stick making it easier to handle. Its price is competitive in comparison with its capability.
Shinyoung Heavy currently is in negotiation with Proxy Aviation to sell more Fireflys and expects to export 60 Fireflys in the next two years, if the negotiation goes well, the company said.
If the company succeeds in shipping more Fireflys to the U.S. at the end of this year, it feels that it would open ways for more exports of the plane to other countries to be used as air force training aircraft, leisure and transportation planes.
Shinyoung conducted negotiations with companies in Malaysia, Brunei, Turkey, companies in Alaska and Saudi Arabia, among others, to sell more planes. The company has succeeded in concluding an agreement with Gus Macloud, an aviation expert in the U.S., to sell 50 Fireflys on Oct. 13.
Negotiations also are under way to set up an assembly plant for the plane in Saudi Arabia.
Shinyoung plans to build a global sales network for the plane in cooperation with Hyundai International to export from 50 to 100 of Fireflys per year. The company also plans to form a consortium for the production of the plane to turn out a bigger number of the plane per year, along with the construction of hangars in the Mokpo harbor at the tip of South Jeolla Province.
In the meantime, Prince Sultan of Saudi Arabia has proposed that he would like to build an assembly plant for the plane on semi knock down basis and sell them in the Middle East. The prince's representative in Korea said the Saudi royalty has been very much impressed with the plane's performance and would like to start assembling the plane 10 a year and increase the production gradually to 50 to 100 planes per year.
He said Saudi Arabia needs many planes to travel around the country because the country doesn't have railroads. Once the plane is assembled in the Middle Eastern kingdom, it would able to sell them to neighboring countries on a long-term perspective.
Shinyoung Heavy is reviewing an offer from an agent in Alaska to sell 10 Fireflys, along with one from Turkey to import five Fireflys. The company also signed an MOU with the Infiniti Co. of the United States to build "Infiniti-I"a similar small plane as Firefly on a consignment basis. The company plans to assemble the plane, 60 of them initially, in three years in cooperation with KARI.
Gus Macloud, who bought the plane from Shinyoung is to fly around the world in the plane from South Pole to North Pole in August next year. Market analysts project that a 'boom'for Firefly will occur if Macloud completes his flight around the world. nw

Firefly, the first four-seater light plane developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute on a recent test flight.

(from left) A ceremony to celebrate the successful flight of Firefly held at the Hanseo University's Taean airfield Nov. 3. President Hong Eui-seok of Shinyoung Heavy Industries.